Angel Monarch

While standing within the explosion, Sera couldn't hear anything, but when Faith took her through the shadows, away from the wave of energy, her eardrums nearly exploded.

The sound was comparable to a giant volcanic eruption. It probably reached even Europe and South America!

The people in the Village just huddled together, covering their ears desperately. Many of them passed out from the loud explosion, but luckily nobody died.

However, while everyone stared out at the energy light show, a lone baby's cry echoed from a hospital room.

Vicky tried calming her newborn brother, but the baby didn't stop wailing. As if he could sense her mother's danger… Or maybe he was just hungry. Vicky couldn't tell either way…

Near the explosion, Sera and Faith watched as the energy formed a mushroom cloud and began dispersing towards the atmosphere. The sight was both terrible and strangely magnificent. Something to be admired from afar.

The redness left Sera's eyes once more, and only exhaustion remained. Faith gently held her Goddess's waist, since Sera had no strength left in her body.

Together, they soon moved away from the destructive energy, back towards the Village. Sera's eyes tried to close, but just before she fell asleep, her son's cry reached her ear.

The golden-green eyes snapped open, and a newfound energy appeared in her body. The energy of a mother worried about her child.

She took flight faster than Faith could've followed, so instead she just dissolved into her Lady's shadow.

Sera flew straight for the hospital room where she gave birth less than an hour ago. Upon getting closer, she heard another sound mix with her baby's crying. Someone was humming a lullaby.

After taking a moment to calm down, Sera stepped inside slowly. Vicky cradled her brother while bouncing and humming the lullaby Sera always used.

The sight nearly brought tears to Sera's eyes, but Vicky soon noticed her. The little girl's white eyes stared at Sera with desperation and confusion. Her body language suggested confidence, however, she was currently panicking.

The Angel couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter, before walking up and gently taking the boy into her hands.

Nick felt the change of his holder, and his wailing momentarily stopped. His beautiful brownish-gold eyes opened and stared up into her mother's golden-green ones.

The baby immediately began grabbing at Sera's scuffled golden locks, which accidentally fell onto her son's head. A small giggle echoed from the baby, and Sera couldn't help but smile brightly, with tears glistening in her eyes.

However, the calm didn't last long. After Nick got bored playing with his mother's hair, he began crying again.

Vicky, who breathed a sigh of relief before, now became panicked again. She began walking back and forth with a thoughtful expression, trying to figure out her brother's mood change.

Luckily, unlike Vicky, Sera knew exactly what her child wanted. She tiredly sat down on the hospital room's only bed and leaned back against the pillows.

"Faith, could you clean the grim and dirt off my chest? My child's hungry!"

Without a word of complaint, Faith appeared from the shadows, carrying a bucket of water and soap. Sera leaned forward, and lifted little Nick, so her Shadow could clean her breasts.

The resurrection destroyed all her clothes, and the fight against the Abomination left her dirty. Since she didn't want her newborn son to drink dirty milk, Sera required her loyal Shadow's assistance.

Faith kept her serious expression while meticulously cleaning off everything. She then quickly moved away and began filling the bathtub inside the room with water.

The bathtub received many upgrades over the weeks. It had both a large container and a makeshift boiler, which heated the water up fairly quickly. Small tendrils of steam rose from its surface as it slowly filled with scorching hot water.

Sera watched the steamy water with desire. She really wanted to let her exhausted body soak, but beforehand, she had to take care of her wailing son.

Gently, Sera raised Nick to her chest, placing her breast near the baby's mouth. His little hands felt around, and his mouth soon found Sera's nipple, which he began sucking immediately.

For a moment Sera got worried if she began lactating or not. However, judging by Nick's content expression, there wasn't any problem.

Everything worked out in the end, and the only one who had to suffer was Sera's nipple. Sadly, Nick inherited his mother's appetite, so for nearly half an hour, he continued drinking.

By the end, Sera began dozing off, exhaustion reclaiming her body once more. It also didn't help that the power boost from her resurrection ran out.

With the feeding done, Nick quickly fell asleep while Faith helped Sera into the reheated bath. She quickly cleaned her Goddess off, since she already fell into unconsciousness.

After the bath, Faith placed her back on the bed with Nick. Together, the mother and son slept for most of the next day. However, eventually the baby got hungry again, so Sera had to wake up too.

…

Time moved fast, and soon a few months passed since Nick's birth. Sera's bloodlust began acting up more, and now she could barely keep it under control.

Nearly each day, she had to go into the wild to kill something, otherwise she might accidentally kill a human.

Her mind also became more fuzzy each day, like something trying to control her. She spent most days asleep, but even then she always woke up exhausted and sweaty, like she'd been fighting in her sleep…

Sera's emotional state also began to rapidly deteriorate. She slowly became paranoid and irritable. Once or twice she even screamed at Vicky, only to cry and apologize moments later.

With everything affecting Sera's mind and body, she had to make an extremely hard decision… She had to send both her daughter and Nick away. So they would be safe from her outbursts…

Vicky tried to argue against her mother's decision. She didn't want to leave her or take Nick away, but she knew staying wasn't an option.

She already needed to spend a lot more time in and around New Athens, since she became a Princess to the people. Henry kept the front, but the public appearances on her part were much more important.

However, still, she tried convincing Sera to at least keep Nick with her. Both knew that if Nick left with Vicky now, then Sera wouldn't meet with him until her bloodlust is cured… Whenever that might be…

They argued for a while, but eventually, Vicky relented. She rushed over and hugged her mother while failing to hold back her sobs.

Sera gently caressed her daughter's shoulder-length white hair. She bent down and gave a small kiss on her daughter's forehead.

She was much better at holding back her tears. Despite that, a few drops managed to escape and land on the ground below.

"Be good, Vicky! Lead my people how I taught you and watch over your little brother!"

Vicky couldn't even answer through her sobs. She just nodded a few times and carefully backed away.

Her mother reached out and lifted Nick. The baby ate himself full recently, and now he peacefully slept, unaware of the sad atmosphere around him.

"I'm sorry little Nick… I wanted to spend more time with you, but it seems life had different plans… I want you to pay attention to your big sister, and always listen to her… I promise we'll see each other, until then…"

Even Sera couldn't hold back her sobs anymore. Tears streamed down her face and landed on Nick as she leaned in and gave a tender kiss to her son.

She then handed him to Vicky and took one step back. Mother and daughter smiled at each other sadly…

"I love you both more than anything!" Said Sera through her melancholy.

"Get well soon, mother! Until then, we'll wait for you!… We love you too!"

With that, a portal opened behind Vicky. On the other side, Henry stood, towering over everybody. The young boy really grew tall in this past year. His face, however, stayed youthful, barely a teenager.

His expression was serious, hiding all his thoughts. But even he showed a bit of emotion at his girlfriend's goodbye.

"Look out for them while I'm away, Henry! I'm counting on you!"

The tall boy nodded once, then with his right hand on his heart, he bowed before the Angel.

Vicky stepped through the portal with her peaceful brother in her arms. She then quickly turned around and watched with teary eyes as the portal closed.

After the portal finally disappeared, Sera stopped holding back. She fell to her knees and began sobbing to her heart's content.

Eventually, after hours of crying, she laid down on her side and, after a few sniffles, she fell asleep.

Faith stepped out of Sera's shadow and placed her Goddess onto the bed. Even the shadowy, emotionless woman's eyes turned teary by the previous display, but instead of crying, she just went back to the shadows, watching over her Lady.

…

"So that's about it! After that painful goodbye, my 'condition' worsened… Now I can barely keep my sanity for a few hours before the bloodlust takes over… I also haven't visited the Village in the past months, at least not while I'm awake…"

"After each bloodlusted killing spree, I fall asleep and Faith kindly takes me back to the Village. However, just when I'm about to wake up, she brings me to another battlefield…"

As Sera finally finished her explanation and story, Bea just stared at her with a mix of emotions. Lots of questions popped into Bea's mind, but judging by the sad look in Sera's eyes, it wasn't the time for that yet…

Instead of saying anything, Bea simply stepped forward and hugged her ex-girlfriend.